09 October, 2005

First ever meme participation

The first lines of current works in progress:

From Little Peach, the novel:

"Once—was it at Lyzzy’s wedding feast?—Runy had overheard two uncles talking:Look at that Anamato, one had said. What of him? He has a gift, doesn’t he? When he talks to you, the way he looks at you, you feel as if you’re the most important person in the world."

Assorted short stories:

"Our Hannimanni was sick. We were all jumpy as fleas."

"I don't hold with folk-godliness in any form. I don't know what I was doing on that train in the first place."

"'You always have to go through stuff,' said Barto. 'Why couldn't somebody have made a road?'"

"'Well, at least it's a fine, clear night,' said Mother. She looked enormous and queenly herself, but mostly that was bedding she'd gathered up in haste before hurrying out of the hut. Her hair, coming undone from its night-time tail, was a shock of silver on her shoulders."

"Diammid leaned against the chest-high rock and gazed into the Vale. It was dark down there among the trees, and not just from shadow."

"I arrived in moonlight; it wasn't hard to find the way. The place was just as it had been left, down to the shit on the newspaper floor, black and white glisters with their own shadows. I sat and waited. There was no water, and something was wrong with the food from being so old. So I waited, mostly sleeping."

"'She must be one of they Moohammedans,' said Grandpa under his breath. The lady looked like a dark-robed ghost hovering in the slid-open Casualty doorway."

You have spotted my dislike of anything resembling scene-setting or exposition at the start of a story. Some people say, don't start a story in the middle of a scene, but I reckon there's no better place. I'm a big fan of the flashback (usually a remembered scrap of conversation, carefully placed and very short) to clue readers in.

The novel-beginning had 35 pages in front of it, which were totally remodelled and put after this scene (I'm still uncertain whether that was a good idea). The others are as in the first draft. I tend not to start writing until I have a first sentence that makes me wonder what's going on.

About Me

I write fiction. My latest novel is Zeroes, the first book of the Zeroes trilogy (YA fantasy), a collaboration with Scott Westerfeld and Deborah Biancotti. My novel Sea Hearts is published as The Brides of Rollrock Island in the UK and the US. I've also written Tender Morsels and five short story collections: White Time, Black Juice, Red Spikes, Yellowcake and Cracklescape.